Manufacture of corrugated paper box blanks



June 7, 1932. G. A. UNGAR 1,861,991

'MANUFACTURE OF CORRUGATED PAPER BOX BLANKS Filed April 1, 1930 a sheets-sheet 1 June 7, 1932. G. A. UNGAR MANUFACTURE oF coRRuGATEn PAPER Box BLANxs Filed April 1, 1930 e sheets-sheet `2v Q2 BE N INVENTOR QN RMN @N mm EN m mf mm @NF w: n@ 0: m: m2

ci mi e :L -N MFN June 7, 1932. G` A UNGAR 1,861,991

MANUFACTURE 0F CRRUGATED PAPER BOX BLANK Filed April 1, 195o a sheets-sheet 3 June 7, 1932. y G. A. UNGAR 1,861,991

MANUFACTURE 0F CORRUGATED PAPER BOX BLANKS Filed April l, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 l June 7, 1932.

` G. A. UNGAR A 1,861,991

MNUFACTURE OF CORRGATED PAPER'BOX BLANKS Filed April l, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 "IH l//l/ June 7, 1932. G. A. UNGAR MANUFACTURE OF CORRUGATED PAPER BOX BLANKS Filed April 1, 195o 8 sheets-sheet 6 June 7, 1932. G. A. UNGAR MANUFACTURE 0F CORRUGATED PAPER BOX BLANKSA 8 "Sheets-Sheet 7 lFiled April l, 1930 INVENTOR Gust ave A.

G. A. UNGAR MANUFACTURE OF CORRUGATED vPAPER BOX BLANKS Filed April 1, 195o 8 sheets-sheet 8 7/I/l//l//l/l/l/l ,///r////////////////////n nl l Patented June 7.1932

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My invention relates to machines Afor creasing and folding so-called corrugated cardboard such as is commonly used in making boxes or containers. One of the-objects is to provide a machine for automatically forming and creasing a blank. SpeclcallyI have sought to provlde mechanism for cutting or slotting a blank and then creasing Oit accurate-Y ly in line with the slots. The material is of such a character that in order to fold it to form a box it is necessary to crush the material quite deeply. This peculiarity of the material makes it diicult to crease by the use of ro that is, with suilicient accuracy for practical vhigh speed operation. I have vaccordingly provided jaws capable of grasping the material and automatically applying the pressure necessary for crushing the cellular structure. For commercial production high speed is of course desirable. I have therefore combined the creasing mechanism with rotary shears or cutters and so designed the creasing mechanism as to permit continuous operation.

In the preferredform as herein illustrated the blanks are automatically slotted and trimmed at the sides by rotary shears of a suitable character.

The creasing mechanism broadly considered consists of a. series-of rotating jaws into which the slotted blanks are fed.

These jaws are arranged in pairs and one member of each pair serves as a traveling abutment against which the material is crushed along the desired lines by the complementary punch member. These jaws are brought into action consecutively so as to han'- dle the blanks as they come from the shearing or cutting mechanism and deliver the slotted and creased blanks to traveling means by which blanks may be' folded ready'for gluing.

In order that the machine may 'handle blanks of different sizes and slot and crease them in the desired manner, various' parts of the machine are preferably made adjustable. I have also provided means for adjusting the members of th'ejaws so that stock of different thicknesses may be handled in the same machine.

of the suitable manner. The -vided with cutters such as 23 and 24 for blank as it leaves the cutters In order to illustrate the principles of the I invention I have herein shown and will hereinafter describe one form off mechanism.

Fig. 1 is a side view showing some of the parts' of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a plan view and horizontal section 55 Fig. 3 is an end view and transverse sectionV on the plane of the line 3-3 of Fi 1.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the plane I of' the line 4th-.41)v of Fig. 1. 60

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary transverse section on the plane of the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

1g. 6 is a fragmentary transverse section on the plane of the line 6a and 6b of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7/.i's a vertical 4sectional view 'showing 65 the creaslng mechanism with one pair of jaws 1n the act of creasing a blank and another pair of jaws shown deliveringV the creased blank.

n Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view showing 70 -the creasing mechanism with the jaws in a diiferentfposition, and showing the stationary'cam or actuating'A the opening and closl mg movement of the abutment or relativelyv statlonary jaws. A 75 Fig. v9 is a vertical sectional view of the creasing mechanism showing the stationary cam for, actuating the punch members of the` Y jaws.

Fig. 10 is a side view showing one pair of 80 creasing jaws on a larger yscalewithihe means for applying pressure. c

Fig. 11 is a transverse section shofvsing the` supports for one pair of jaw'sftlisction geingmonv the plane of the lil-11 of 85 1g. l I

Fig. 12 is a transverse section of the creasing jaws on the plane of the line 12-12 yof Fig. 10-

The cardboard sheet 20 which is to form 90 the box blank is fed into the machine in any shafts21, 22 are protrimming the edges and intermediate cutters such yas 25, 26 and 27 for cutting slotsin the 95 trimmed blank. These cutters are of course arranged in upper and lower pairs for providing the necessary shearing action and the has a general l shape, as shown at 2.8 in'Fig. 2. 0

l ber 50 and a creasing member 51, the grip- The blank is to be creased along. the lines corresponding to the slots 25', 26' and 27. The slotted blank after it leaves the cutters is picked up by traveling chains 30 which carry it into the guides 31 and 32. The roller 33 presses downwardly by gravity and/or by springs to hold the blank against the upper surface of the chain conveyor. The` stock is supported by rollers 34 beneath the roller 33. The roller 34 is mounted' on a shaft with the sprocket 35 which drives the chain conveyor. The chain is provided with projectng fingers or lugs 36 at intervalsto engage the successive blanks. The-chain 30 also passes around ,the sprocket 37 on the shaft 38 throu h which power is applied to the chain. second s jacent the creasing mechanism and chains 40 which serve to take the blanks from the chain 30 and deliver them in a direction substantially radial to the axis of the creasing mechanism which is mounted on the shaft 43. A stop 44 is hinged at 45 and provided with a spring 46 which holds it yieldingly.in the position shown in Fig. 1 so that when a blank is fed toward the creasing mechanism by the chains 40 its movement forward will be checked at the proper point for engagement by the creasing jaws.

Each pair of jaws has an abutment memping surfaces of which are designed to most effectively crush the material which the machine is to handle. In this case the abutment member has a flat faced die 52 and the creasing member has a V-shaped punch member 53. These punch preferably detachably connected to their respective carrier members, for instance, by machine screws such as 54 and 55.

The abutment jaw is supported on an eccentric 56 on the sleeve 57 on the shaft 58. The shaft is either angular in cross section or provided with a spline or key to permit the sleeve 57 to slide longitudinally upon it but rotate with it. The arm 59 is keyed on to the sleeve 57 and has its outer end engaged in a groove in the jaw member 50 with a spring 60 interposed as shown in Fig. 12.

The companion or creasing jaw member 51 is similarly supported on an eccentric 61 on the sleeve 62 on shaft 63. The arm 64 is keyed on the sleeve 62 and has itsouter end engaged in the groove 65 of the creasing jaw member 51 with a spring 66 interposed.

The shafts 58 and 63 are supported in heads and 71 on opposite ends of the shaft 43.

Sleeves 57 and 62 are supported in discs 72 and 73 which are mounted on the shaft 43 and held together by bolts 74. The discs are keyed on the shaft as at 75. The rotating jaw carrier is supported by the standards or illars 80,. 81, on opposite sides of the mac ine. The main shaft 1s aft 39 is arranged ad-` travel on sprockets such as 41 and 42 and die members are made up of three sections to ther with connecting discs or spiders. T e main section 43 above mentioned directly supports the discs to which the creasing jaws are hin ed. The end sections 82 and 83 are supporte in suitable bearin in the standards 80 and 81 respectively. he discs 84 and 85 are keyed to the inner ends of the stub sections 82 and 83 and connected by bolts such as 86 and 87 to the respective heads or disc-like members 70 and 71. A

The shaft 58 has one end rotatably mounted'in the head 70. The other end is rotatabily supported in a sleeve 88 which exten s through the head 71 and the disc 85. On the extreme end of the shaft 58 ismounted anl arm 89 which carries a roller 90 which travels in a groove in the cam 91 which is fixed to the standard 81.

Similarly the shaft 63 has one end rotatably mounted in the head 71 and the other end rotatably supported in the heads 70 and 84 and provided with an arm 92 which has the roller 93 guided in the cam member 94 which is secured to the standard 80, for instance, by bolts 95.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 show various relative ositions of the creasing jaws as brought a out l automatically and consecutively by t e action of the cams 91 and 94 upon the various shafts 58 and 63.

In Fig. 7 it will be seen that the jaw member 50 has its abutment surface substantially radial to the carrier so that as the carrier rotates anti-clockwise this jaw member 50 will pick up the blank 28. 4The outer end of the jaw member 51 is spread apart from the complementary abutment jaw member 50 in vorder to leave room between the jaws for the entry of the blank 28 since the blanks are bein continuously fed into the creasing mem er which is continuously.y rotating. The jaw member 51 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 7 by the roller 93 in the groove of the cam 94. The shape of this cam groove is such as to automatically move the jawl member 51 into the position of the jaw member 51" when the jaw members are substantially horizontal as shown in Fig. 7 at which point the creasing action takes place.

It is possible by this mechanism thus far described to crease but I refer to provide a supplementary power evice to give a nal pressure to the jaws. For this purpose I provide a rotating member which is mounted on a shaft 101 and provided with rollers 102 and 103 which in effect form two teeth of a gear'member and coact with the cam-like portions 104 and 105 at the ends of the creasing jaws 51 and 50 respectively when the parts are in the position shown at the right in Fig. 10 and shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 shows gagement of one cam portion 104 with .the roller 102. As the jaw carrier rotates antithe blanks in .this manner i the start of the enlac i eased' left :george:

wise the position shown in Fi 7, the cam member is engaged by the ro er 103 and substantial grippmg pressure is applied to put the desired crease 1n the blank.'

It will be seen that this closing movement of the jaws 50 andl 51 is not transmitted to the actuating cams 91 and 94 because the jaw members have a limited freedom of movement with respect to the arms 59 andv 64 which are mounted directly on the-shafts 58 and 63 which carry the cam rollers. It will be obvious from what has just been stated that the extent ment of the creasing jaws can be readily adjusted either by moving the closing device toward the jaw carrler or by movin the jaws themselves longitudinall towar operation and at thesame time move the inner ends of the jaws toward each other by the simple expedient of rotating the eccentrics 56 and 61 in opposite directions. This is accomplished by providing gears 106 and 106 on t e eccentrics 56 and 61 respectively, which are in mesh with each other and driven by a pinion 107 on shaft 108 which is rotatably supported in the heads 70 and 71 above mentioned. One end of the shaft 108 is provided with a gear 109 which meshes with `an idler gear 110 which in turn is driven by a gear 111 on the shaft 112 which may be actuated by suitable mechanism such as lthe hand wheel 113. (See Fig. 2.) By rotating the hand wheel 113 and the gear train'above mentioned the shaft 108 is rotated, which in turn rotates the gears 107, 106, 106 and the attached eccentrics 56, and 61 respectively, thus movin the two creasing jaws in accordance wlth the setting of the eccentrics and closing their hinged ends toward each other at the same time that they are moved longitudinally toward the closing rolls 102 and 103. Y j

This action results in the closing ofthe jaws toward each other while maintaining their punch and die faces parallel so as to produce a crease uniform in depth from one edge to the other of the blank and regardless of the thickness of the blank. As the creasing jaw carrier and the closing rolls continue to rotate the jaws are disenor freed from the closing device as shown in Fig. 8. As the 'aw carrier continues to rotate, the creased blanks are carried vupwardly and then downwardly to the until they reach the position at of Fig. 7, where the blank 28" is engaged by the chain which travels on sprockets 121 and 122. Intermediate the sprockets. the blank is supported in its central portion by a number of guides or supports 123 .and 124 and 125. with lugs 126 for engaging the rear edge of the blank.

clocklwise and the closing device rotates clockl bending of the closing mov'ethe closing device. I prefer to per orm the latter.`

veral stance, by means of the motor 140 the left f The chain is preferably Iprovided The construction as ducesa slotted and creased blankl but also folds the creased blank ready for gluing. or this purpose I provide stationary inclined abutments 130 and 131 atop ite sides o the creasing-jaws so -that the lank is bent along the creases nearest to the outer edges of the blank by virtue of the movement of the creasing jaws as they move the blank downward between the inclined abutments 130 and 131. As soonas this initial creasing action is completed as just described, the abutment jaws 50aare retracted from the position shown in Fig. 7 to that shown in Fig 8 so as to clear the blank 28 and allow it to be moved to the left by the conveyor chain 120.

is retracting movementof the abutment jaw` 50a is performed by roller 90 on the shaft ofthe abutment arm in accordance with the principles heretofore descrlbed.

the left with the conveyor 120 it is discharged As the initially creased blank 28a moves to l shown not only pro-.

the cam 91 and the on to the conveyor132 which travels on the sprockets 133 and 134. `The central portion of the blank is then supported by the members 123, 124 and 125.'

Fig. 5. As the partially foldedl blank con-v j Asvthev blank moves' forward it passes beneath the roller 135 and rollers 136 'and 137 fold' the tinues in this movement it is'engaged by other rollers such as 138 and 13 9 to close the edges gradually and completethefolding operation preparatory to A gluing in any suitable manner.'

In the form drive the various parts automatical y, for inas shown shown power is-a lied `to in Figs. 2 and 3. The cutting rolls are driven b chain 141. The shaft 101 for rotating the c osng or supplementary power device is driven by a chain 142. The shaft 101 also has a gear 143 meshing with gear-144 onv the countershaft 145. The countershaft has a izo s rocket 146 for driving the chain 147 which rives the sprocket 148 on the end of the main shaft of the jaw carrier. has a sprocket 150 which drives the sprocket 151 through the chain 152. l The sprocket-151 is on the shaft 38 which carries the sprocket 41 and drives the chain 40 for feeding the blanks upwardly toward the jaw carrier. This shaft 38 also carries a sprocket 37 which drives the chain 30 which eeds the stock from the cutters to the pickup chain 40.

The sprockets 122 and 133 are mounted on the' shaft 154 which has a sprocket 155 on its outer sprocket 157 on shaft 38.

In order to permit proper timing of the chains 30 and 40 with respect to blanks of different widths, the sprockets 151 and 157 The shaft 145 also above mentioned arerotatably mounted with respect to the shaft 38 and connected for rotatlon b means of a clutch 160 which may be Vactuate by a lever 161. By disconnecting 5 clutch 160 from the corresponding clutch teeth on the hub of the sprocket 151, the shaft 38 and sprockets 37 and 41 may be rotated so as to move the chains 40 and 30 and bring their lugs into the proper position for timing theblank properly with respect to the feed of the chain creasin 'aws.

It wi e understoodf course that the cutters 23 to 27 will. be of suitable diameter to feed and cut the selected blanks and that their rotative position with respect to the feeding of the chains 30 and 40 will be adjusted correspondingly.

In order to handle blanks of different sizes .requiring slotting different spacings, it is desirable that the various parts of the machine be made laterally adjustable.

The slotting cutters themselves may be adjusted longitudinally on the cutting shaft 21 in any sultable manner so as to trim the blank at the plroper width and cut the slots according to t e proper lateral spacing. The lateral guides 31 and 32 are supported by bars 17.0 and 171 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3),` which are slidably mounted in the frame and may be clamped as for instance by set screw 172. For convenience in assembling and adjusting the yielding abutment plates 44 are carrie by the inner ends of the guides 31 and 32 respectively, so that they are adjusted back and and the timing action of the forth to` correspond with the proper width of I the blank.

For the purpose of adjusting the feed-in and pick-up chains their shafts and s rockets are supported by sub-frames or brac ets 175 which are mounted, to slide on cross guides- 17 6 and may be adjusted by screws 177 which have a threaded engagement in the base of the brackets so that by rotating the screws 177 and 177 the chain supporting brackets may be moved outward or inward as occasion may require and independently of each other. The closin devices which are slidabl mounted on t e shaft 101 are provided with bearing brackets 180, 180a and 1801 The cent-ral. bracket 180e is stationary and in linev with the approximate center of the machine and therefore need not be adjustable. The outer brackets 180 and 1806 are laterally adjustable by screws 181 and 182 respectively, which are supported in the bearing brackets 183 and 184 which constitute parts ofthe frame of the machine.

The jaw carrying discs are adjustable laterallyby screws 185 and 186 which are rotatably supported in the heads and 71 of the carrier. The screw 185 has on oneend a gear 187 which meshes with a gear 188 on 5 the shaft 189 and the latter has a suitable are mounted on transverse guide beams 197 and creasing according to mechanism such as a hand wheel 190 for rotatingit and thus adjusting the outer jaw carryin disc by a well known screw and nut princip e. The other screw shaft 186 has a gear 191on one end which meshes with a 'gear 192 on the sleeve or hollow shaft 193 actuated by a suitable mechanism such as a hand wheel 194.

The outer units of the feed-out and folding mechanism are similarly adjustable. In this case the bending abutments 130 and 131 are carried by sub-frame members such as 195 and 196.

These two frame members 195 and 196 and they may be moved back and forth laterally, for instance by screws 198 and 199. These frame members 195 and 196 also carr with them all of the sprockets for the fee out chains and also the supports 124 and 125 as well as the folding rollers. The holdingdown rollers 135 are carried by brackets 200 which are supported on the transverse guide rods 201 so that the rollers ma be adjusted transversely independently o each other. The folding rollers 136,- 137, 138 and 139 are supported by brackets such as 204 to permit them to be longitudinally adjusted on the frame member 195. They may also be adjustable with respect t0 the inclination of their axes by belng pivotally lmounted as shown' at 205 in Fi 5. It should be umarstood that all the lateral adjustments pertaining to each of the outer creases may be simultaneously effected by suitable connecting mechanism (not shown).

It will be seen from the foregoing that we have provided automatically and continuously operating mechanism for consecutively treating a sheet lof corrugated paper or the like, first trimming and slotting itat the proper points, next feeding it, then creasing the blanks accurately in alinement with the previously formed slots, then discharging it from the creasing mechanism, and then folding the blank along the' creased lines and discharging it folded rea y for gluing. Obviously the latter operatlon might be elected on the same machine or in a subsequent operation.

As above pointed out, parts of the above mechanism are adjustable laterally to handle blanks for different sizes of boxes. It

"is also adapted to handle various thicknesses of stock.

All of the adjustments, as above pointed out, are of such a nature as to be simply performed. The nature of the creasing mechanism is such that it can be performed on various kinds of stock and regardless of the 125 thickness or the cellular character. The latter feature is of great importance because of the irregularity and peculiar characteristic of corrugated paper or board, which characteristic makes -it extremely dilicult to handle by any of the previously known mechanisms. The mechanism is also capable of operation continuously at a high rate of speed and with accuracy. Y

I claim:

l. In a corrugated paper machine cutters for slotting a blank, jaws for creasing the blanks as they leave the cutters and means for automatically folding the creased blanks, means for automatically transferring the blanks from each' element to the next and I neans for continuously moving the creasing jaws.

2. A slotting and creasing machine comprising slotting rolls having cutters, rollers for engaging the blanks as they leave the slotting rolls, conveyorl chains having lugs for engaging the blanks and creas jaws actuated in alinement with the slotting cutters.

3. A slotting and creasing machine comprising, slotting rolls having adjustable cutters, creasing jaws adjustable in alinement with the cutters and means for continuously actuating the cutters and creasing jaws.

y 4. A corrugated paper machine means for slotting a blank and, continuously movable v the slots while it moves.

,creasing jaws an a rotatin each pair in 5. In a-corrugated paper `creasing machine, a continuously rotating carrier having a pair of creasin jaws and continuously movable means for ceding blanks into the jaws.

6. In a creasing machine, `a continuously rotating carrier having a number of pairs of creasing jaws and means for adjustlng one pair toward and from another pair.

'7. In a creasin machine, a pair of hinged member having shoulders for engaging sai' jaws for creasing. j

8. In a creasing machine, a pair of rotating and hinged jaws having eccentric bearin and means for rotating the bearings to a just the creasing action. j

9. In a creasing machine, a continuously rotatable carrier having a. head with a cam, a pair of creasing jaws carried by the carrier and having an actuator coacting with said cam.

10. In a. creasing machine, a continuously rotating carrier, a number of pairs of creasing jaws carried thereby, and means for swinging one jaw of'each pair'relative to its companion jaw.

11. In a creasin machine a rotating carrier, a number y'o pairs o creasing jaws carried thereby means for moving one jaw of advance of itscom anion jaw through art of a revolution an means for moving t e other jaw independently of the first mentioned jaw through another part of the revolution.

12. Creasin Ymechanism comprising a rotating carrier avinfglhinged jaws, means .for feeding blanks to e jaws and a yielding jaws for creasing the blank in alinement with 14. Creasing mechanism comprising a ro- Y tating carrier, jaws hinged thereto, a stationary cam and connectors between one jaw and said cam.

15. Creasing mechanism comprising a rotatable carrier having heads at opposite ends, shafts carried by said heads, discs slidably mounted on said carrier and creasing jaws mounted on said discs and connected to said shafts.

16.' The combination of a continuously rotating carrier having hinged creasing jaws, stationary abutments for engaging the edges of blanks as they are delivered b thejaws and means for folding the bent e ges of the blank. 4

'17. A creasing carrier having pairs of creasing jaws and stationary cams at opposite ends of the carrier connected to the jaws for actuating` them independently.

18. In a box machine, slotting cutters, a feed chain leading therefrom, a second feed chain for receiving a blank from the first chain, creasing means in alinement with the slotting cutters and means for adjusting the feed of one chain with respect to the other chain.

19. In a creasing machine, arotating car. rier, a pair of jaws pivoted tosaid carrier and extending away from the axis of the carrier, two cams, and means of connection'between said cams and said jaws for independently moving the jaws w ile the carrier rotates.

20. In a creasing machine, a. carrier, a pair of creasing jaws pivoted to the carrier, eccentricsfor moving the pivoted ends of the jaws toward and from each other, and means for pressing the' outer end'sbf the jaws toward each other.

. GUSTAVE A. UNGAR. 

